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College sports look more different than they ever have, and it doesn’t appear the change is stopping anytime soon. A recent report from football insider Brett McMurphy unveiled another potential trend that could soon be seen as the powers-that-be continue to search for money making avenues.
This particular instance involves the Big 12, a league fighting to bridge the revenue gap with top conferences like the SEC and Big Ten. If the proposed suggestion comes to fruition, it will offer another bizarre rebrand that fans will be forced to get acclimated to.
College sports, more specifically college football and basketball, have long been in the for-profit business, regardless of that non-profit tag.
The arms race is now as active as it’s ever been.
Television contracts are reaching record highs, leading to changes to both conference affiliations and postseason formats, and the introduction of NIL has only fanned the flames.
Those media deals have led to lawsuits in the ACC, as well as the complete deconstruction of the PAC 12, changing the sports landscape as we’ve come to know it.
Now, there’s more!
The Big Ten and SEC are currently top dogs in the revenue realm, banking boatloads of cash through their lucrative TV agreements. The Big 12, while boasting noteworthy schools, was left the scraps following the departures of Texas and Oklahoma.
To make up the distance with those top leagues, they’ve resorted to looking at a few unique alternatives.
It was recently reported that the conference was eyeing a potential private equity investment of $1B in order to provide an influx of cash while “ensuring the league’s long-term financial and competitive security.”
On the table is a possible cash infusion of $800 million to $1 billion from Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners in exchange for a 15% to 20% stake in the league. A portion of the money would go directly to the 16 conference members…
No league has ever been this close to a private equity investment of this kind.
Big 12 teams are currently earning $31.7 million each with Fox and ESPN in a media rights deal that ends in 2031. Add in the cash infusion from private equity, and the two revenue streams would combine to move the Big 12 “much closer” to the Big Ten media rights deal, according to a person with intimate knowledge of the proposal.
Taking things a step further, the Big 12 could change its name completely!
Brett McMurphy reports that the conference is looking at the possibility of selling its naming rights to Allstate for upwards of $50M annually.
Big 12 in discussions w/Allstate on a naming rights deal to change league’s name, sources told Action Network.
Deal could be worth b/w $30-$50 million annually & name possibilities include Big Allstate Conference or Allstate 12 Conference, sources said.
-Brett McMurphy / X: @Brett_McMurphy
Could you imagine?
“And now, BYU kicks off to Cincinnati in the Allstate 12 Championship Game!”
In the words of Mark Jackson – “What happened to the game I love?”
The Big 12 isn’t the only league looking at a potential rebrand. Conference USA is reportedly in similar talks with Globe Life. These newsbreaks come shortly after the NCAA announced its decision to allow sponsorship logos to be placed on college playing fields – and soon on player uniforms.
College sports continue to change, becoming more unrecognizable by the moment. It won’t be too long before we see the next domino fall.